


Now All Our Memories (they're haunted)

by BookwormGirl16



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Episode: s07e12 Victory and Death, Mentions of Padme and Obi-Wan, Missing scenes from Victory and Death, Post-Season/Series 07 Finale, Vader searching for Ahsoka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24027994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookwormGirl16/pseuds/BookwormGirl16
Summary: "Your lightsaber is your life.  Don't lose it.""The Emperor had promised him that he will be the one to eliminate Obi-Wan Kenobi. That he would be able to cut one of the last ties to Anakin Skywalker personally.One of them.Still one remained...The apprentice."Vader's thoughts and actions leading up to his discovery of Ahsoka's lightsaber.
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 23
Kudos: 151





	Now All Our Memories (they're haunted)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Already Gone by Sleeping At Last

_"You were my brother Anakin! I loved you."  
"Anakin, you’re breaking my heart."  
"Anakin! Good luck."_

Anakin...  
Anakin...  
_Anakin_.

The name means nothing to him anymore. The man it had belonged to was too trusting, too naive, too _weak_. But he was no more. That had been one thing Kenobi had done for him, in his final betrayal, he had freed him of the weakness that was Anakin Skywalker. Now only Vader remained.

 _Vader_ , who stood on the side of justice.  
_Vader_ , who crushed his enemies under his boots.  
_Vader_ , who had power the simple-minded Jedi could never have fathomed.  
_Vader_ , who finally received the respect- no, _fear_ \- he was owed.  
_Vader_ , who would never allow himself to be betrayed- to be _weak_ \- again. 

The Emperor had seen to that. His suit kept him alive, but it also made him something other. Something no one, and no thing, could touch.  


Padmé... Padmé was dead. And Anakin Skywalker's child along with her. Vader had learned of her death far too late to do anything about it.  


Kenobi. Kenobi was the reason she was dead, why Anakin Skywalker could be no more. Just the thought of him, the source of his pain, brought a fiery, volcanic rage. Hotter than even the lava that had put him in this suit. The anger fueled him, gave him power, and would ultimately be the undoing of Kenobi.  


3 months. 3 months after the dawn of the Empire, and still no word on where that wretched man had cowered down in fear. What hole was he hiding in, living in fear of the monster that took the place of the man he had betrayed?  


The Emperor had promised him that he will be the one to eliminate him. That he would be able to cut one of the last ties to Anakin Skywalker personally.

One of them.  
Still one remained.  
_The apprentice._

He knew from Anakin Skywalker's memories that she was on Mandalore shortly before the Jedi committed treason. Skywalker had dispatched her to detain Maul, and he had been informed of her success shortly after.  


Vader told himself the small thrill of satisfaction he felt was purely for the fact that Maul was a stain on the name of the Sith, and Vader is his Master's one, true apprentice. It had nothing to do with Anakin Skywalker's padawan.  


Though, she did possess potential. His Master had conceded that fact shortly after Vader had risen. Kenobi was an enemy… but the girl did not have to be. She had seen the Jedi for the hypocrites they were. She had left them when they betrayed her, just like they had betrayed _him_. Skywalker had seeds of the Dark Side in him, it was entirely possible he had passed those on to his student over the years.  


Ahsoka Tano was all that remained of the man known as Anakin Skywalker.  


His Master had already begun a search for Jedi that escaped the Purge before he had recovered enough to join him. Vader did not have a reason to enquire after the fate of Ahsoka Tano, he had no connection to her. Skywalker, however, had every reason to. Vader thought it was only fitting to know the fate of Skywalker’s apprentice, so he had searched the database of information on all confirmed Jedi eliminations for her name.  


Kenobi had broken his family. He had betrayed him, poisoned Padmé against him… but Ahsoka… Ahsoka had not been with Kenobi. He had not had the chance to twist her thoughts and turn her against him, there was still a chance he could restore a piece of what he had lost. If she lived, he would not be alone. If she lived, then there was hope.  


His Master had felt his _-concern-hope-fear-_ and he had been punished. Nevertheless, the Emperor had allowed him to continue. After all, who better to help find the remaining Jedi than a disillusioned ex-Jedi?  


Though the remaining Jedi were being hunted down, and many more had been confirmed dead since the Purge, there was still no report on the elimination of Ahsoka Tano. The clones that Skywalker assigned to her had received the order but had not confirmed her death. Nor had they reported in. They had simply disappeared, ship and all.  


Luckily, the traitorous Jedi Council had proved to have one last use. The records kept in the soon-to-be Imperial Palace were meticulous, though it had taken time to crack the encryption on information he sought.  


There. Maps and logs from all Star Destroyers from the day the Empire was born. It was simple work to find the ship the ex-padawan was on, escorting Maul to Coruscant.  


The ship's last known location was in the Sumitra Region near Aquaris.  


It had taken weeks of searching to find what remained of the ship, crashed into the face of an unnamed moon.  


The reports sent by the scouts contained very little information that interested him. Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice had survived worse than a crashed ship and was smart and skilled enough to avoid being killed by clones.  


In another life, the cold, snowy planet may have prompted a witty remark or a complaint. Now, there was not enough of a man inside the suit for the weather to be of any concern, nor were there any companions to hear him.  


Vader took in the twisted form of the Star Destroyer with little more than a glance. The wreckage scattered on the icy surface was of no consequence- the moment he had landed he knew what his destination would be. While the bonds Anakin Skywalker shared with Kenobi and his padawan had been severed the moment he pledged himself to Sidious, he did not need them to recognize the call of a kyber crystal he would recognize anywhere.  


There, buried under the snow, a hilt that had once been as familiar to him as his own hand lay forgotten. Skywalker had meticulously taken care of this lightsaber, had kept it close and meditated with it, in the hopes that he would be reunited with its rightful owner. Even now, with that connection broken, Vader could feel the crystal crying out, crying out for the person it never should have been away from. Crying out to the Force in grief.  


Its owner is gone.  


Vader drops to one knee, the movement the closest to losing control he has been since his rebirth. Gently, he wipes the clinging snow off the metal cylinder and wraps both hands around it. Skywalker had held this lightsaber in his hands countless times before- the Jedi believed that it was an extension of a person’s soul, and to entrust it to someone else was rare enough- even before the war. But Skywalker and his padawan had been close… they had trusted each other with their lives day in and day out.  


Vader lights the saber before he truly understands why- the blue of the blade is distorted through his mask, but in his mind he can see it clearly.  


Unbidden, a memory floats to the surface, Skywalker and the apprentice in a hanger… a smile, and a fleeting feeling of _-pride-hope-happiness-_.

_“If you’re going to face Maul, you’ll need these.”_

Above, a convor circles the sky, untroubled by the ice and snow. Distantly, Vader hears a low, mournful keening. So very little makes him pause now, but this bird captures his attention. It is free. There is no cage, there are no predators following it, it could leave this space for somewhere better. Yet, it stays, grieving as though it too has lost someone.  


Vader extinguishes the lightsaber and clips the hilt to his belt. He does not spare a glance to the clone trooper helmets half-buried in the snow, or to the decimated ship still groaning in the wind, as he walks away. He will leave behind a team to search the wreckage for survivors, but he already knows they will find nothing.

_“Your lightsaber is your life, Ahsoka, don’t lose it.”_

Ahsoka Tano was a good student- opinionated, willful, and stubborn to the point of being disobedient- but also passionate, strong, and loyal. She was better than what Skywalker had deserved. For all his faults, he had trained her well, and she would _never_ have forgotten that most crucial lesson.

_“Your lightsaber is your life.”_

No, this lightsaber was all that remained of Ahsoka Tano.

  


_The apprentice does not live._

**Author's Note:**

> Wow.  
> That finale left me with so many emotions I'm still trying to process. Writing fanfiction for the first time in 3 years is just part of that process I suppose. I wanted to flesh out Vader/Anakin's thoughts and motivations leading up to him in the final scene. I tried to walk the line I felt a new Vader would have emotionally- he has lost everyone he cares about, but he also does not see that he is at fault, he wants to find Ahsoka alive, but he is not the man she knew anymore. I really believe the moment Vader accepts Ahsoka is dead is the moment Anakin Skywalker truly dies. I hope you enjoyed!  
> You can find me @thirdbroomstick on tumblr if you'd like to scream about TCW with me  
> [Snips & Skyguy Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21bVTlQkNSyFTolaafHNWk?si=Cfou9gJMR4iG-T4E6Uziog)


End file.
